


Sea Pals

by littleladysugar



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, i cant hold all these precious characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-29
Updated: 2015-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-26 06:56:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3841363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleladysugar/pseuds/littleladysugar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"No! I'm gonna set'em free. Into the sea!"</p><p>(( In which Steven and Connie attempt to reach a friend through the courage of... sea pals. ))</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sea Pals

The air tasted faintly of salt.

Well, it always did, actually- just some days more than others. And some days the ocean breeze would feel heavier, like it did today, almost as if there was a thickness trying to sell itself on the wind.

"So, Steven," the softness of a familiar voice brought the mentioned boy back to attention, "are you going to throw those Sea Pals now?" Connie asked, pointing to the stacks of cardboard carriers which rested near them.

"O-Oh! Right!" standing up, Steven brushed a light dusting of fine white sand off his pants and grabbed a box. Turning it over, he attempted to read the instructions, squinting at the words, "Connie, look at this! It's like a font for ants!" he smiled.

There was a giggle from his friend, bringing a slight blush to the half-gem's cheeks. 

"Well, are we throwing them into the sea now?" she asked, hands behind her back. The slim girl kneeled onto the beach to pick up a container herself, squinting at the tiny words and cover art, "They look a little bit freaky," she mumbled, to which the curly-haired boy just shook his head.

"Connie! These things are adorable," he protested, sitting down next to her again, "and, yes. We just have to-" tongue stuck out in frustration, he began to try and tear the top off, but just ended up raking little flakes of cardboard away.

"Oh, come on! It says 'easy open'!" Steven lamented, eyebrows upturned.

"Here, let me see." Connie grabbed the box gently, and began to try and peel away along the line. But, still, it was just breaking off unevenly. Jeez! 

While his friend similarly struggled with the Sea Pals, he looked to the water. 

_Hmm... where would be the best place to free these lil' guys?_

Hand against his chin thoughtfully, Steven scanned the surface. It was a matter of great importance, of course! What if he didn't throw them far enough and they all just got washed back to shore? That would be _so_ sad! Of course he had to scout for the perfect place.

A particularly cold tide brushed against his ankles, swirling in a pale blue before departing back into the sea with a trail of popping, bubbling foam. The water was still, for the most part, and each small wave that came in and out elicited a dainty  _whoosh!_ and barely imprinted the cream-colored sand.

He felt his fist clench slightly at his side, and turned around to all the boxes of Sea Pals.

"Steven, I think I got-"

"Hey, Connie? Do you think Lapis is okay?"

The methodic whispering of the sliding water answered him.

"Uh... didn't Garnet say she was looking? I'm sure she'll be fine. I mean, the sea isn't _that_ big," she blushed, realizing this was completely untrue, "but I know she'll return. Some way or another."

"Hey, an idea!" starry-eyed, Steven turned around to face the girl, easily casting off the melancholy that had tiptoed about him. "What if we use the sea pals to say hello?" he smiled, picking up another box and turning it over with interest.

Connie raised an eyebrow, "Good idea. But, how do we plan to do that?"

"Uh... train them?" The half-gem scrambled to collect all the containers that were scattered across the sand, so Connie soon followed, balancing the one she opened on top of her own pile very carefully. Steven's mind was working quickly, probably too quickly, but that was just because he was excited, y'know? If there was any way he could reach the ocean gem... he would try his best.

When all the Sea Pals were gathered, the bare-footed kids scaled the creaking wood steps up to Steven's temple-attached room. He enthusiastically shoved the screen door open, smile carved wide across his lips. 

"Here's what we'll do! Just get, uh, a big basin! Yeah, and we can fill it with water and junk. Then, if we just pour all the Sea Pals in there, we can talk to them. Get them to listen to us." Steven mused, setting down all the boxes on the counter and turning to Connie, words punctuated by his animated arm motions.

"Well, okay. We should try." the girl nodded, tapping her chin in response. Even if the idea turned up to be a failure, for Steven's happiness and sound of mind, it wasn't worthless. Connie looked up to find the boy already gathering the supplies. He hauled a clear plastic container out of the little storage shutters by the stairs, and waddled over precariously. 

"This'll be big enough for all of them!" Steven proclaimed, hoisting the tupperware basin up into the sink with a grunt. The slender girl padded over and tapped the faucet on, and both jumped slightly as the stream of water hit with a spray. 

Giggling, the two stepped back, satisfied with their progress. 

"Alright, let's keep going."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Darkness, numbness, blankness. Darkness, numbness, blankness.

The repeated pressure of waves rolling somewhere, far above and out of her reach, but she could feel it- the rhythm shook her salt tinged skin and stung her eyes.

Sometimes the ocean felt relaxing, surprisingly. Like a blanket of cool navy which soothed her tired muscles and tired mind and made her forget that the stain on her cheeks was tears, and not seawater. But some days she couldn't tell at all.

And then there were the days when she knew. She knew that every drop which slid down her cheek was one of sadness because it scraped her skin and made her eyes sting and she hated it- she hated it so much.

The gem couldn't tell if she was constantly fused, either. The only certainty was that she had kept the orange one down at the bottom, whose rage burned as powerfully as her color. An occasional wrestle, signaled by the water bubbling and swirling around her, let Lapis know that Malachite was struggling for a freedom which they both, admittedly, desired. But she wouldn't let it happen.

The chains only grew tighter.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Footsteps nearly soundless on the silky sand, Connie and Steven made their way back to the shore after an hour of... training?

At least they thought it was training. That is, if you could consider the gallons of spilled water on the floor and the horror of Pearl who thought that there were a plethora of mini gem monsters on the floor, productive.

The tub was held firmly between the two as they finally set it down on the beach's edge. Each little Sea Pal inside was a mere squirming, grey dot.

"Okay little buddies, it's been fun..."

"Steven, are you crying?"

"BUT! Your time has come. Remember what we taught you!" 

They tipped the basin into the sea.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Today things weren't as dark.

If she squinted hard enough, the winged gem could almost see a glimmer of white light breaking the water's surface... But she couldn't tell if that was just her mind convincing her something was there. Lapis desperately hoped it wasn't.

Movement distracted her, a stir in the water that was buzzing and seemed as if there were a bunch of little things moving as one.

Malachite tested the chains, hoping the commotion was enough to distract Lapis. Yet, unfortunately for one party, it wasn't- and there was a weak pull in response. It was getting hard to do this, day after day. She wasn't strong enough.

The watery light from above started to pinpoint into shadows, and the gem drew her blue eyes upwards.

A gasp escaped her lips, bubbling up through the image that was in front of her.

Little animals, she honestly didn't know what they were, had reached Malachite's oceanic prison. They came in a dark grey swathe, like bugs, and seemed somewhat confused in an attempt to... spell out something?

The first word formed, a simple line.

' I '

More commotion associated the next formation, the water's calm breaking with swirls of air bubbles.

' MISS '

The menace of the fusion, or Jasper- whichever was active- stilled.

' YOU '

' -STEVEN '

This time, she knew it was tears.

And this time, she knew she was strong enough to hold back the ocean itself.

**Author's Note:**

> omfg i love her so much and i love their friendship so much
> 
> hope you enjoyed, this was my first SU fanfiction. c: <3 
> 
> inspired by a text post and a comic on tumblr, i'll link those when i find them!


End file.
